Run the numbers The growing economic power of older adults

Insights from a summit organized by the Milken Institute’s Center for the Future of Aging, included some pretty astounding numbers on the growing economic power of older adults and the underutilized resource of older workers.

By the end of this decade, annual consumer spending by age 60 plus adults globally will reach $15 trillion. Americans over 50 account for $7.6 trillion in direct spending and related economic activity and older adults in the U.S. dominate 119 out of 123 consumer packaged-good categories.

In the workplace, research shows, older workers in the U.S. have similar or lower injury and illness rates than younger counterparts but fewer than half of companies worldwide factor longevity into their strategic planning.